It will be my first go at 360. I STRONGLY DISPISE 360! But rather then be a baby about it, I am gonna conquer my fear tomorrow. Wish me luck, I think I will do 45.

Oh! By the way, last week’s ride was awesome! Ended up riding 50 miles with Janehttp://soupwithafork.typepad.com/born_again_athlete/ who was a great training partner, despite the fact she thinks she is slow (she is NOT…she was in front of me for about ¼ of the ride…).

Training overall is going great…ran 9 miles this morning (YES, on a FRIDAY at 5:30am!!!!) I felt like a real runner or something as we skipped along the trail chatting about life and all the nonsense we athletes talk about while not thinking about running…meanwhile about 200 other runners were doing the same things with THEIR training partners. Ahh, to feel like part of something bigger than myself…very gratifying.

Going to some Physical Therapy (everyone in Austin-go see Vicky at Atlas PT…she’s great!!!!) to get my IT band finally worked on. Need to get my bikes refit, as well (at least my two race bikes). Ahhh, so busy…Half ironman training is in full swing (I’m now 4 weeks in…) and Marathon training starts Tuesday (okkk…I fully admit I am not READY at all!) But I am very excited and eager.

Overall, life is grand. I’ll be in Houston August 14-16, so holler at me if you wanna hang out!!!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

dual race weekend: all-ladies alleycat and couples tri!!!

wow, i am so beat. yes, whomever thinks it's a great idea to race back-to-back days (especially with only about 12 hours of recovery in between them) is CRAzy! OF COURSE, i have been known to be called crazy!

anyhow, 3rd roadie in the alleycat and 1:33.32 in the tri. Which is GREAT considering i cut 10 minutes off my swim time from last year!!!!!!!!! bike was slower than usual, but considering...run was 'alright,' but really hot.

thanks to all for the support!!!!!! high five events aka jack and adams knows how to put on the events! lots of food, beer, etc!!!!!!! a good time for all! congrats to my partner, Ginny, who was the 'gin' part of "Gin and Jess!" 1:26 and some change. she is gonna start placing top 10 any race now...

that is all for now, more later. oh everyone wish my tri bike, Whitey, happy birthday! today she turned one! it's been a great time with her!

look for my REAL birthday plans to be posted, soon :) (hint: it's the 16th, this thursday!!) party is wednesday night...

---

So the alleycat first:

Things went well! I am not gonna lie, it was stupid hot outside. Racing at 6pm (especially considering that I had a race the next morning!) was not the smartest move. I went out there and did it though. Took my geared commuter, Trek, and we tore it up the best we could. Made all the checkpoints (especially the 7-11 at North Lamar-woof and the Givens Park at 3800 block of E 12th street!!!!!!!!!!!!) I think I rode 20 miles. At least. I didn’t have the best game plan, but overall, I was happy to finish and, amazingly enough, was 3rd roadie. NOT TOO SHABBY! Got a jersey, drank some free beer and had a grand time. Til I remembered I had to get up early :/

So the Tri…

Yeah I woke up with minimal sleep, but amazingly enough again, legs didn’t feel too bad. Did feel a little woozy. I’ll blame the heat of the previous day. :) anyhow, ginny and I and our race biatch Kiki (he knows we love him!) carpooled together and got there with plenty of time to rack up and hang out. The heat was already crawling. For some reason, my nerves were FREAKIN OUT! Not too sure where this is coming from. I have been racing tris for 4 years now and have never had issues like today!

As soon as I got in the water, all was forgotten. The nerves actually played in my favor I guess and I was suddenly very calm and relaxed. I swam the BEST swim of my life. Mind you…still SLOWWWW but steady and a HUGE improvement (we are talking a 10 minute improvement over my swim time from last year!!!!!!!!) I came out of the water cheering and so freakin’ happy I thought I was gonna cry. Ironically my swim coach Maurice comes up behind me and tells me ‘good job!’ I told him ‘it’s because of you!’ he dashed past me and we did transition. Ironically, we came out of T1 at the exact same time (well, it turns out he beat my T1 time by 2 seconds!)

Onto bike time. Coach Chrissie goes FLYING by me and tells me ‘looking good.’ So does T3’ers Tom and Cara. Good motivation. I hammered the first half at 19.4 MPH…amazing time for me…but wayyy to fast. I got to the 2nd half and my legs were DONE. I ended up averaging 17.0 mph overall for the bike course. My slowest bike this year! Blach….but I blame racing the previous day!

T2, I couldn’t find my rack!!!! Somehow, still came out, and ironically, 2 seconds IN FRONT of Coach Mo in T2. :) (sorry, we all have to brag were we can brag!!!) the run course was soo freakin’ hot. I started getting cold chills-no bueno. I felt slow and overheated. I felt SOOO slow. I ended up though averaging 8:41/mile, still my slowest run this year, but strongly under 9:00/mile. It felt great to finish, seeing Beaux (hey sweetie!) there and all my teammates and friends cheering. Ginny totally beat me by 6 MINUTES!!! She rocked this tri, for sure. 20th fastest swim time OVERALL (out of everyone that raced….even faster than my coaches!!!!!!!!!!) I need to take swim lessons from her:)

The afterparty was totally a great time and I didn’t want to leave. Sleepiness eventually set in though (adrenaline is hard to maintain when you are drinking mimosas instead of water!) and Ginny, Kik and I split to go home. I wish we would have stayed for awards, and BTW, we were 4th female friends team-under age 59!!! Haha…funny.

Thanks to all for the support again: T3’ers, Jeff @ advanced rehab, Michelle @ Performance wellness, Kenny, sweetheart Beaux, my coaches, the frozen yogurt folks, New Belgium, Ginny, and Kik. This is my favorite Austin race, I think. I’ll keep doing it as long as you keep holding it, Jack!!!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Double Down Ladies Alleycat!

AHHH YEAH! Race time again! I can’t freakin’ wait! Yeah, it’s gonna be hotter than HolyHell but it’s gonna be worth it! Hopefully I can avenge my performance from the last alleycat and even if I don’t place at the top, I will finish fast and strong.

And NOT GET lost (well…okay, not get lost in the Adult shop anyhow!)

HA! Deets below:--

Alright ladies, here it is - Austin’s 2nd ever all ladies alley cat race! We’ve got a ton of great sponsors and prizes, and a bunch of new prize categories.

Dudes - this is for the ladies, but contact Heather if you want to volunteer for a checkpoint or the after party.

This race is going to involve some gambling and checkpoint challenges where you can double down for more points. 7 checkpoints with a few bonuses. Fastest doesn’t necessarily win Queen of the Double Down, it’s about how many points you collect and some other secret prize categories that will be announced at the after party/awards ceremony.

Registration begins at 5pm (we will be @ the Capitol at 4:30 for all you early birds) and costs $5. The after party will be @ Fast Folks Cyclery (2513 A. EAST 6TH. ST.). The after party is free for racers, $5 for everyone else, and will have beer, food, a raffle with even more great prizes, and DJ Daecosomoxi from San Antonio. All proceeds will benefit the Austin Yellow Bike Project.

Bring a bag, a lock, plenty of water, a bathing suit, and some money. Dress appropriately ladies - Austin’s heat/humidity in July ain’t no joke!

"Okay, I decided to host the ladies ride for this Friday!!!!! I was holding out for the fixxxed friday flyer/race and hadn't heard anything? Dancakes...still doing it?!

Meet at the Lamar Ped. bridge at 6pm, leaving at 6:3pm. (most of us aren't working so, this should work okay).

we will hit a free swimming hole, grab refreshments and then decide the next course for the night. I really want to see the Music Man at Zilker Park @ 8pm, but we can always head that way and split off along the way like last time.

bring plenty of water, lights and a swimsuit. should be a good time. i also know of a pool party nearby we can crash if we get bored!